Mismatched
by MissNata13
Summary: Is there such a thing as mismatch fates or perhaps 'in another life time' scenarios? Why is it difficult to match fates together in this particular lifetime?  A Rose/Scorpius-esque Story
1. Chapter 1

**I feel terrible for starting new story but this idea had been bothering me since yesterday morning and I couldn't concentrate on studying. By the end of yesterday I managed to outline the entire plot. During study breaks... I managed to spit out the first chapter. I really apologize for those who are reading Dragon's Blood and waiting for the next chapter. I promise and up date no sooner than thursday and no later than Friday. PINKY PROMISE. But if you're dying to read something... you could give this a shot. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter One

ooo

It was hard to explain. To Rose it was. Watching Scorpius receive hugs and praises from his parents and his friends felt unusually unsettling for Rose because she couldn't find the courage to do that herself. She had been standing on the sidelines since the beginning of her sixth year, watching Scorpius like she had her first year.

Was it because he had finally managed to beat her at exams and ranked the top student for their year? Or was it because despite all her efforts, she still hadn't figured out her feelings towards him?

_Rose Weasley_- student extraordinaire with the abilities to fix up a simple potion in 7 seconds flat was unable to figure her emotions within 7 years.

_I'm pathetic_, She thought, closing her eyes.

Rose took off her black pointed hat that and pressed on a smile for her family and friends when they greeted her with big hugs and kisses. She knew despite coming second in academics, her parents were very proud of her. Even Professor McGonagall gave her a rare praise for her efforts and congratulated her before she began to motion everyone towards the lake.

Rose was in no mood to cross the lake. She hadn't been looking forward to this part of the graduating ceremony, not because she will miss attending school but, because it meant memories she had created will now just be that: _memories. _Rose muttered under her breath, scolding herself for not preparing herself better for the bitter farewell she was about to face. But before she could actually mentally prepare, Albus was at her side, taking hold of her robes as he dragged her away from the crowd to the edge of the Black Lake where several of their classmates were gathering.

Albus grinned at her, "Never thought I'd see the day when we'd be crossing the lake again. Eh, Rosie?"

Rose bit her lip and looked at Albus who nudged her side.

"Hm?"

"Blimey," He sighed out, "You've been daydreaming since the ceremony. I would ask but I think I know the answer already."

Rose waved him off, climbing into the boat with two other classmates and her very good friend: Olive. They had met after having a row on who was going to get the bed next to the fire place in the girls dormitory their first year. Needless to say, Rose hadn't met anyone who challenged her when she was riled up and soon after became very good friends.

"Can't imagine what it will be like after this summer and not returning." Olive sighed, starring up at the castle, "Feels strange thinking about it."

Rose nodded, fiddling with her hands. She finally looked up at the castle, thinking it would be a good way to bid her farewells to her school. It only broke her heart even more and when she blinked away her eyes landed on a boy with silver hair, an arm draped around a slender girl who placed her head on his shoulder in affection as he kissed her forehead bidding her a goodbye as he climbed into his own boat.

Although a surge of disgust ran through Rose's veins, she sat there in confusion as the boats began to lazily drift away.

ooo

It was strange for Rose to disagree with her parents but after a year of carefully observing Scorpius Malfoy, he didn't seem _so _bad. In fact, he was nothing like how her father described him to be.

Arrogant.  
>Nauseating<br>Irritating

Rose was pretty sure that he was none of those things and if he _was_, he sure knew how to hide it. See, Rose never really intended to care much about him or any other Slytherin that past her way, except ever since she could remember all her father would talk about was Malfoy's son and how she should always be careful around him.

She was trained to be extra aware of him. She never made it obvious. It's not like they really exchanged words their first year anyways. He did, however, sit next to her during Herbology. On countless '_incidences'_, Rose would peek over towards his desk space and noticed neat handwriting and an intricate notes, along with the occurring exam with a perfect score. Rose quickly learned he was exceedingly smart and hardly gloated.

And if he didn't gloat about his marks like Albus did sometimes, meant that he wasn't arrogant. But if that was true, what else had Rose's father gotten wrong about Scorpius?

Yes, after a year worth of observations, Rose was sure Scorpius was nothing like his 'no good father'. Although, she kept her findings to herself, it always made her smile when her father went on a rant about the Malfoy's.

Returning as a second year, Rose was excited to begin another year of observing him, although upon their first day of classes it seemed impossible due to the amount of homework they had overwhelmingly received.

Olive and Rose were in the library, trying to etch out a paper for History of Magic. Rose wasn't too happy about a 14 inch paper due at the end of the week but then again, it was about the First Wizard War which was something very frequently talked about in her home.

Olive let out a sigh and collapsed her upper body dramatically over the book she had cracked open.

"I despite history." She cried, "You would think Professor Binns would notice how boring it is, since he probably died from reading his own textbook."

Rose snorted.

Olive perked up, flipping her brown hair out of her face. She pouted up at Rose and let out a huff.

"Did you hear they postponed quidditch try-outs until next week?" Olive asked, "Bloody torture."

Rose peeked over at Olive's book and jotted something down on her parchment, "No I didn't hear. You know I don't care."

Olive sat up straighter and began to lightly read.

"Well I thought we could…" She trailed off, pointing at something in the book, "Is this what they really did back then?"

Rose scanned the text she was pointing at and nodded.

"You thought we could what?" Rose urged on.

Olive made a face, "People were mental…"

She sighed and began to dip her quill in her ink. It took her a few lines to finally finish her sentence. Rose had almost forgotten about it even if curiosity had her thinking for a while"

"Oh! What I was saying!" Olive suddenly shouted, receiving a couple of rude stares from other students nearby. She glared right back at them before looking back at Rose, "We should try-out together! It could be fun!"

Rose, clearly appalled at Olive's suggestion, dropped her quill and groaned.

It was a solid fact that Rose was terrible at flying. It was proven many times during Flying classes their first year. It was something she inherited from her mother. Didn't like flying all that much when she was growing up, she never thought she would actually be terrible at it. Rose sprained her limbs a couple of times before her professor decided to glue her to the broomstick with a spell, which only caused another accident.

"Are you seriously out of your mind?" Rose hissed, "What would I be doing at quidditch tryouts? Besides, did you not see the team last year? They're all beefy and manly. Why would they consider two scrawny sticks like us, Mmm? They would probably cut you the moment they see you step out on the pitch."

Olive gasped, "I am _not_ scrawny! Last hour, McCoy said I looked much fuller in places. If you haven't noticed, I almost nearly blossomed over the summer and you have yet to take notice!"

Olive stuck out her chest a bit more. Rose smirked.

"I apologize," She snorted, "I forgot that for a 12 year old you must be nearly busting out of your training bra."

Olive glared at her.

"Wait which McCoy?" Rose suddenly asked.

Olive smirked and shrugged, "The eldest. He has such a way with words."

Rose scoffed in jealousy. If there was one guy every girl fawned over it was Damian McCoy, a forth year Gryffindor who knew how to woo girls just by a glance.

"Lucky…" Rose breathed out

"I _know_!"

"As I was saying," Rose said trying not to laugh, "I'm not trying out, if you need someone to support you, I'll go and watch but really… me? Trying out?"

"I said it would be fun." Olive repeated.

"Fun for who? For everyone else nearly falling off their broom's in laughter watching me wrestle with the broom?" Rose nudged Olive kindly with her elbow, "Listen, you know you have a way better chance at making the team. It'll be fun watching you in games if you make the cut."

Olive frowned, "But I thought it would be really wicked if we were both on the team."

"You know, half the fun of being on the team is winning…" Rose smiled.

Olive sighed, "Right… I guess you're right. But _honestly_, the only thing you suck at is getting a good grip at the broomstick handle. If we could just work on that-"

"Olive!" Rose shot, "Stop."

"Eh, did you listen there boys, looks like Weasley here needs help gripping on to her _broomstick_."

Rose and Olive froze and turned to see Darren McCoy, the youngest McCoy, walking up to them with his pack of friends behind him. They were third years and automatically made them a lot more intimidating than what they really were, to Rose at least.

Darren leaned against the table, sizing down Rose, which made her very uncomfortable.

"You got taller over the summer, didn't you Rosie?" He smirked, "How about I give you some lessons on broomsticks, eh? You'll never fall off one again."

His friend's chuckled.

Olive, not one to stand for mockery, stood up and shoved Darren away.

"Oy! For Pete's sake, we're twelve you idiot." Olive shouted, "If you're really going to try following in your brother's footsteps, you could start by not being such a perv!"

Darren averted his attention to Olive, a bit surprised by her assertiveness.

"And who are you exactly?" He shot back.

"Don't act stupid. You know exactly who I am." Olive glared down, "But if you're as stupid as you look, then a reminder wouldn't hurt would it. Olivia Wood. You're on the Gryffindor team as a Chaser, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well I heard you need a Keeper. It suits your interest not to irk your future Keeper if you want to win any games this year." Olive spate, she looked down at Rose and urged her to get up at get her things, "Hurry, Madam Pince is headed this way."

And before either of them could hear the laughter and jeers from the boys, they ran into a Madam Prince, who had no problem kicking them out of the library… for an entire week.

ooo

Rose had nearly forgotten about the paper she had turned in until she was given a scroll back bright and early Monday morning. She carefully opened it, fearing the grade she was expecting to get. After being kicked out of the library for a week, Rose had a difficult time to finish up her paper only using her textbook. Olive didn't waste much of her time thinking about it but for a near perfectionist like Rose, it was hell.

Rose took in a deep breath and rolled the scroll open, only to be greeted by small neat handwriting that was nothing like her own. She didn't need to check who it belonged to. The handwriting itself was a giant clue that Rose had somehow, by error, received Scorpius' paper. Rose raised her hand, but Professor Binns completely ignored her.

"As you may have noticed, you have received a different scroll from your own. I wish for you to go to your dorms tonight revise the paper and grade it on clarity, use of dates, in-depth, and linking occurrences of the first war. " Professor Binns droned on, "And I will also like for you to give an opinion on their essay. I expect you to exchange scrolls first thing tomorrow. History, as you may find, can be very subjective depending on who is telling the story and it is a great way to find out as many different angles to a single situation to see the full picture, yes? As I was saying last class hour, the trolls defense during the first war had been, regrettably used against…"

Rose looked down at the scroll and looked across the room at Scorpius who was staring at the scroll in his hands. He suddenly looked up, flickering his eyes up at Rose.

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><p><strong>I hope that it's clear that there will be times that I'll be jumping back and forth between years. I hope it's not THAT confusing. Anyway, I hope you can stick with me on this story. I promise it get's a lot fluffy and cute for those who love that type of stuff as well as all thes mix of emotions I hope translates. Leave me a word.<strong>

-n


	2. Chapter 2

**I promise after this chapter it gets a lot better and fluffier.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter Two

ooo

During dinner, that same day, Rose was slowly nibbling on a celery stick reading Scorpius' paper somewhat ignoring Olives nervous chatter. She was prepping herself for tryouts that night and was eating as much as she could out of anxiety. Rose really did try to stop her but Olive ignored her since she was suggesting restricting energy she needed for the tryouts.

"Suit yourself." Rose muttered, taking another bit of her celery stick and reading the last of Scorpius paper.

"Are you really going? Or are you going to waste your time reading something as stupid as that paper?" Olive whined, "I need my friend."

Rose smiled, "I said I was gonna be there!"

"Yeah, well… doesn't seem like it." Olive muttered.

"I don't want to stay up late just to finish this assignment off." Rose shrugged, "What about you? Haven't you read your scroll?"

Olive made a face, "I did. I finished."

Rose's mouth dropped, "What do you mean you_ finished?_ I was with you all day! I never saw yo-"

"During class." Olive explained, "I wasn't paying attention. Even Bryne's paper was more interesting than the Binns."

Rose pouted, why didn't she think of that? She spent the entire class time trying not to go to sleep since the lecture was over trolls and elves during the first war. It's not that Rose didn't think their role wasn't important but did Professor Binns have to go into depth? Rose should have thought of that as well. She could have had a free night to practice spells for Charms class.

"Why didn't I think of that…" Rose muttered.

"Anyways, just put down whatever pops into your mind first." Olive sighed, rising to her feet, shoving an apple in her mouth, "It's not like you have to put what you really think. Just write something along the lines of _well written, your point of view is completely fascinating and the topic you chose to discuss really shines light on your interest…_"

"Is that what you wrote for Byrne's paper?" Rose asked, rolling up the scroll and shoving it into her robe pocket.

"No, but don't use it." Olive waged a finger at her making her way out of the great hall, "I might add it on to Byrne's paper."

Rose laughed and followed Olive out.

By the time Rose saw Olive walk out onto the quidditch pitch she had reread through half of Scorpius' scroll. The sun was low in the sky and the pitch nearly glowed in gold from the dying rays of the sun. She set the scroll down on her lap and watched as her friend joined a small group of guys huddled around. In comparison she looked tiny, but strangely enough it was her stature that seemed to intimidate them. Most of the boys trying out eyed her down trying to figure out what position she may be trying out for.

Although Rose couldn't hear what they were say she could pinpoint the exact moment when Olive declare she was trying out for Keeper due to the teasing and laughter she suddenly heard. Before Olive got to give them a piece of her mind, they were suddenly all in the air running simple drills. Rose was fascinated. It's not that she actually like quidditch she just enjoyed watching it. There were times she honestly wished she was a decent flier because the way her Uncle Potter would explain the feeling seemed exhilarating. Even her mother would agree. But what's the point when she had a small fear of it and ultimately sucked at it?

"Why aren't you out there Rosie?"

Rose perked up at the voice mentioning her name. She turned to her right and to her surprise Damian McCoy was lounging out a couple of feet from her in the stands. Rose was almost speechless until she reminded herself that she can't look like an absolute idiot in front of him. Word might get back to James, her cousin, and that was taunting she rather avoid.

Damian raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

The gesture made Rose blush and she looked away.

"Oh, I'm terrible at flying…" She admitted.

"All girls say that." Damian said.

Rose heard a shuffle and a second later he was settling himself right next to her. Rose cleared her throat and tried to concentrate her view out on the pitch.

"I nearly failed flying last year." Rose sighed, "The only reason I got top marks was because I help clean out the brooms stalls for extra credit."

Damian McCoy let out a laugh. He _laughed_. Rose suddenly had a surge of confidence she never had. They talked about the try-outs mostly but still, it was enough to gloat about later to Olive who would be dying of jealousy. Rose nearly floated off the stand in happiness. She felt giddy and light-headed. It was almost surreal the way she felt that she concluded Damian was the boy she was going to marry once they were all older.

"Looks like they're done…" Damian announced, squinting into the distance.

Rose look in the direction he was and saw that everyone was dispersing. Damian rose to his feet and stood there. Rose, unsure of what to do, did the same. Except, now, her curiosity was now on Olive and how she did. Feeling torn to part from Damian, Rose decided it was better to leave before she did anything stupid that would ruin her perfect evening with Damian. She waved at him as she climbed down the flights of stairs down to the pitch. Rose immediately found Olive who was heading towards the locker rooms, alone.

She didn't look to beaten down, but she didn't look very happy either. Rose rushed to her side to find out exactly what happened.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, "How did you think you ranked?"  
>Olive sighed and cocked her head to the side, "I was bloody brilliant. Didn't you see?"<p>

Rose cleared her throat, deciding to avoid the question, "Why are you upset then?"

Olive pouted, "They're announcing who made the team tomorrow. _Tomorrow!_ I thought after seeing my superlative skills they would just tell me right after try-outs I was in."

Rose had to listen to Olive complain about try-out for the rest of the night, which to be clear, wasn't that long. The moment they settled in their dormitories Olive headed straight for her bed and collapsed into a deep sleep. Rose rolled her eyes. She spent the rest of her night down in the common room chatting with Albus over a game of wizard's chess. It was a nice way to end the day, that is, until Rose suddenly remembered of a certain assignment she forgot to attend to and spend the following hours reading Draco's paper.

The following day, Rose walked up to Scorpius before class started and stood by his desk. She cleared her throat to make her presence known. She never really gotten to know him so it seemed the best way to approach him. Scorpius looked up and gave her a small smile. Rose hadn't expected to see him smile so she merely gawked at him.

"Hello…" Scorpius awkwardly waved.

Rose closed her eyes, "Sorry 'bout that. Still a bit sleepy… Um anyways, I got to read your scroll. I really enjoyed it."

Rose placed his scroll on his desk. Scorpius eyed the scrolls before looking up at her, confused.

"You enjoyed reading it?" He questioned.

"Uh… what I meant was…" Rose looked around wondering what to say, "It was well written. Your point of view is completely fascinating and the topic you chose to discuss really shines light on your interest."

Rose nearly kicked herself after blabbing that out.

"Oh… thank you." Scorpius said.

Rose forced a smile out and pivoted around to head back to her desk, mentally scolding herself.

"Wait." Scorpius called, stopping her, "I got your scroll here."

Rose bit her lip as Scorpius looked through his book bag. He took out a scroll and handed it to Rose, who quietly thanked him and nearly ran off to her desk. Olive was reading her edited scroll, agitated with the fact that she still needed to wait 6 more hours to find out if she made the team or not.

"Torture…" She sighed, "And I still have to go through History of Magic. I rather be dead. By the way, did you use what I told you yesterday for the paper?"

Rose chuckled and sat down next to her, "No, not really."

"Oh, I was going to tell you could have used my ingenious piece of mind." Olive grinned, "I was so anxious yesterday, I fell right asleep once we got to our dorm."

Rose questioned Olive sometimes. It seemed like she was the extreme opposite of the norm. Usually when Rose was extremely nervous or excited for something she had trouble falling asleep. To her, Olive defied logic.

"Ah, what scum!" Olive mumbled, "Listen to what Byrne wrote on mine, ahem. _The paper was informative but lacked personality to have reader engage in her topic… _It's a bloody paper dimwit not a witch weekly article!"

Rose smirked, rolling her open. Her eyes scanned down her scroll and her mouth dropped.

Nearly every single available space was crammed with red handwriting. Rose knew she hadn't done her best but the amount of complaints Scorpius had jotted down was insane.

_Not enough information to support this obvious opinion…_

_Perhaps use more vocabulary to hide the fact this paper is by a 12 year old girl…_

_Interesting point of view, although it is obvious it is heavily influenced by her family's involvement with the two wars…_

Rose laid her paper calmly on her desk and tried her best not to storm over to Scorpius and hex him to the next century.

ooo

Rose watched as Hogwarts became smaller and smaller as the boat's continued to travel across the Black Lake. Olive was unusually quiet. In fact, the entire trip no one spoke a word. They merely, looked over their shoulders constantly to remind themselves they were leaving Hogwarts for good. Rose gulped and with on last look over the shoulder she turned back around.

"Don't be upset." Olive whispered.

By then, Rose was letting out a few tears to trail down her cheeks.

"We'll be traveling around world the second we get out of here." Olive rubbed her hand up and down Rose's back to comfort her. "Remember? You're excited about visiting Japan and Egypt."

Rose sniffed, "Don't forget about America."  
>Olive nudged her, "That's my Rose."<p>

The trip down the lake was longer than expected, but it was fulfilling. The second the boats hit the other side no one stood up. Rose lingered in her seat for a pause before standing up. It was the end of their journey. Olive was at her side and as the entire 7th year class began to make their way towards the Hogwarts express. Rose reached out for Olivia who was racing up the small hill to be able to say she got there first.

It was very childish of her but then again, Olive was just a kid. They were all kids. Just as Rose decided to run after Olive, a piercing voice called her name.

"_Rose Bud!_"

She thought it was her imagination for but still, she reacted to that nickname and turned around to find Scorpius weaving in and out of people to reach her. She had no idea what was going through his head or why she felt an urgency to run but she stayed. The desire to hear him say that name again overpowered her will to run.

"Hey, stranger." Scorpius breathed out, "Haven't seen you in a while."

Rose gulped, "Well you know… things… came up. How've you been?"

They led a steady walk up to the Hogwarts Express.

"Great." He smiled, "Ruthie and I are going to intern for the Ministry of Magic together. We start at the end of the summer. Honestly, she's is amazing. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't realize my true passion of administration. I could become Minister one day. Wouldn't that be a laugh?"

Rose forced a smile, "That's great…"

"What about you?" He politely asked.

Rose looked around, secretly wishing Olive wouldn't have ran off so quickly to help her out.

"Umm just traveling for the summer." She shrugged.

"What about after the summer?"

Rose stayed quiet, she felt extremely uncomfortable explaining to Scorpius the reason she wasn't doing great things like he was, was because of him. All of her years at Hogwarts she had been on top of her class, except for their 7th year. Slowly but surely, their falling out had affected Rose and Scorpius finally gained the upper hand. He was award the only thing Rose was fighting for at the end but he won.

He won and he was completely happy with taking everything she lived for. Rose even feared that he had taken a part of her heart.

"More traveling…" Rose sighed out, "I suppose I need to breath. Figure out somethings…"

Rose contemplated spilling everything out to him despite the amount of people around them. It just felt wrong having everything bottled up inside. She realized that because she was unable to speak out, she had landed herself in this difficult situation that only appeared to be a situation to her.

"Oh that's great..." Scorpius, for a split second, looked crestfallen, "Good luck then. See you around."

Disappointment surged through her limbs as she slowed down. It was the first time they've spoken since She stood there, pathetically as the classmates continued up the trail to the Hogwarts express, leaving her dwelling on the past.

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><p><strong>I hope nobody is confused between the past and present!<strong>

-n


	3. Chapter 3

**It's always when I start a new story I'm extremely humbled by the comparison of reviews that I get for other stories. It's great to get into the mind set that every new story means an opportunity to reach new readers and I really thank you for giving this a shot. I won't disappoint you!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter Three

ooo

_That idiot. That good-for-nothing idiot_, Rose thought. In fact, it was her only thoughts concerning Scorpius for the past three years. Every time he would past by or even when his name would be mentioned, Rose automatically had her defenses up and because she only wanted to prove him wrong, Rose was over working herself to get top marks. Anything and everything was used as competition against him. Of course, he never knew that he constantly lost but at least it was a form of stress relieving when Rose found out she had better marks then Scorpius did.

And yes, Rose did take it very personally that he had degraded her terrible paper. She knew it was bad but never did she think he would go as far as insulting her family.

The _nerve_ of him!

It's not like she assumed he wrote about unforgivable spells and their uses in the first war because if father was good at them!

Only one thing made Rose more mad than remembering that stupid paper he wrote all over and that was knowing that he received better marks than her. It was a huge pet peeve of hers that she ensured she hardly encountered.

It was the reason she always stayed in the library after hours to make sure all of her homework was done and in pristine condition to turn in.

And after all the years of glaring at him behind his back and working hard to make sure he never had a chance to ever criticize her work again, Rose come under the conclusion that her father was right.

Scorpius was an insufferable brat that probably used his charm and good looks to achieve what his mind lacked.

Rose had nearly become obsessed with beating him out that even Olive had taken noticed who wasn't always the most observant girl in the world. One cold evening, while Rose desperately tried to finish up her book questions in potions, Olive took a good look at her and scoffed.

"My good friend, you look rough." She announced, "And that's coming from me, a girl who sports scabs on her knees and blisters on her hands."

Rose looked up from her frizzed red hair and glared at her friend.

"You really expect me to keep up with looks? I forgot about this potions assignment and I still need to make time to study for the exam tomorrow. I'm behind." Rose whined, "I'm such an idiot."

Olive gulped down a spoonful of mash potatoes, "That assignment is due next week!"

"I know but I don't want to leave it for last minute!" Rose complained, "When are you going to start on it? It's really tedious."

Olive scoffed, "Next week… when it's due. Rose, c'mon live a little. Let's go brush your hair or something."

"My hair is fine." Rose airily said, sipping on her pumpkin juice.

"Your hair is a pigeon's nest!" Olive nearly shouted, catching the attention of some of the people sitting near them.

Rose felt her face flush with anger.

"Was that necessary?" Rose glared.

"Will you or will you not?" Olive persisted.

Rose gritted her teeth and shot to her feet, "Fine! Brush my hair! Waste your time doing something moronically stupid, it's not like anyone else brushes their own hair when they charm their stupid brushes."

"Great!" Olive smirked, "Come with me."

Olive linked arms with Rose and dragged her out of the Great Hall, receiving stares from a couple of amused students who had over heard their conversation. Rose was not happy, not happy at all.

Even when Olive managed to sooth her stress with massaging her scalp and combing out the tangles in her hair, it was hard to stay mad and that annoyed her. It was more relaxing than Rose would admit out loud but she did eventually succumb to appreciating how her hair looked neat. Although Rose really tried to avoid it Olive got her to spill, because if Rose was stressed over work only meant one thing…

"He beat you at something didn't he?" Olive sighed, plopping on to her bed.

Rose closed her eyes and groaned, "Yes… but not because he actually deserved it. I forgot to answer the extra credit, he didn't…"

"When are you going to let it go?" Olive groaned, "I would understand if he actually teased your constantly or down right degraded your entire family but that was three years ago… and some of the things he wrote were kinda true…"

Rose shot a glare at her friend.

"What?" Olive defended, "You know that essay wasn't the greatest and you wrote what you heard all you're live, it was bias and you know it. You just couldn't stand the fact that he got the top mark in that class partly because of the praise you gave him…"

Olive began to laugh as Rose crossed her arms.

"Shut up…" She whined.

"See? I was right!" Olive chuckled, "You're all pouty and what not! But at least you look more attractive when your hair is brushed."

"I beg your pardon!" Rose stood up, "If you must know, Damian loves my hair a little messy."

"Does he now?" Olive smirked but immediately frowned. She rolled around in her bed, shoving a pillow in her face as she screamed. She absolutely hated when Rose mentioned Damian.

Dashing, daring Damian.

Olive emerged from her pillow and chucked it at Rose.

"I can't believe you still have this little fling with him!" Olive pouted, "After all my efforts I get the consolation prize!"

Rose wrapped her arms around a trunk of her four-poster bed and rested her head against it, "Darren is becoming quiet the looker, eh? All manly and matured, quidditch is certainly favoring him."

Olive flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically and stuck her nose in the air, crossing her arms.

"I don't care for boys." She huffed, "No matter how handsome they are."

Rose smirked, "That poor boy, when are you going to say yes to his countless date offers?"

Olive made a face, "When he stops trying to take a peek of me changing after quidditch practice! _Matured?_ He's still the perv we first met."

"You like him don't you?" Rose smiled.

"Ugh, _yes_…" Olive admitted, "I just don't wanna seem to easy."

Rose coughed in surprised, "You? That boy has been at your feet for the past year literally on his knees and you think you might sound easy if you give him a break? Goodness Olivia, you're mental!"

"Stop you sound like my mother." She groaned, "Thing is, I've put up this front for so long how in the world do I just stop being a bitch to him?"

Rose cocked her head. Olive did too.

"Why don't you just say yes next ti-"

"No."

Rose frowned, "Fine, just tell him you lost a bet with me and you have to say yes."

Olive smiled, "Not bad."

"It's my abundance of pure wisdom that allows you to enjoy the fruits of my labor." Rose laughed.

"Oh hush, let go to bed." Olive suggested, "See? It wasn't so bad was it? You didn't study and I'm sure you'll still have top marks tomorrow. Just wait."

Rose suddenly became anxious.

"Yeah… wait."

ooo

Rose made sure that she waited exactly an hour before she heard the first snore from Olive to get up from her bed. She was not about to let her guard down just because a little pick-me-up of girl talk and hair brushing made her feel better. She gulped and slowly slipped out of bed, making sure nobody in her dorm, especially Olive noticed her rising from her bed. She was considering taking her slippers but she decided against it, deeming that it was more noisy than tiptoeing. She would have to journey through the castle barefoot if it meant not getting caught. Rose tucked her potions book underneath her robe and stalked out of her dorm.

The trail down the staircase and out of the portrait hole was relatively uneventful, and so was the journey to the library. She snuck in without any trouble and quickly escaped to the nearest deserted corner with a window where the moon was able to shine a light on the pages of her book. Hermione found a table tucked away from open view and claimed it as her own.

She sat down opening the book and a relief spread over her like a calming fire. It's all she wanted, more time to study.

Rose wasn't sure for how long she sat there recalling ingredients and their properties but after catching herself dozing off several times she decided it was time to head back to her dorm. She slowly tucked the notes she gathered into her book and yawned. It had to be nearing midnight. As Rose slowly regained her consciousness back, she began to recall the large amount of time she spent there. It couldn't be midnight…. Rose glanced at her watch and realized it was nearing two in the morning. She gasped and glanced around hoping no one was around to blot towards the doors and race back to her dorm.

Just as she rounded the corner of a group of bookshelves she saw Flitch on the far end of the row, looking around. She gasped and ducked into the aisle of bookshelves. She gulped.

Rose really had no idea how many point would be deducted if she was caught outside of bed, nonetheless at this hour.

"Irma did you check the study tables?" Flitch called out.

Suddenly hurried footsteps grew louder and in Rose's direction. Rose shoved herself into the shadows and squatted. A second later of doing so, Rose got a quickly glimpse of Madam Pince running by her bookshelf aisle.

Rose used to play hide-and-seek with her cousin on numerous occasions growing up. She loved the exhilaration of hiding and hoping no one would spot her out. This was a different type of exhilaration. One that nearly made her want to cry.

"Bloody git, come out!" Flitch yelled out, "Wotcher doing out of bed so late, eh?"

Rose made herself as small as possible. She heard Flitch's step slowly approach her hiding place and the anxiety nearly disabled her from thinking rationally.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard far off and the sound of the front doors slammed open.

"Run Irma!" Flitch hollered, "He's gettin' away!"

Flitch began to run away from her spot and just when she though it was safe to let out a breath, she heard a terrible sound.

The thunderous click of a locking door.

Impossible.

Rose suddenly hopped to her feet and ran to see if the door was really locked. She had failed to bring her wand with her and she came to that realization as she looked for it, trying to figure out what to do. Rose, weaved in and out of tables to reach the doors, let least she could do is jiggle the doors to see if they could somehow open, right? Rose glanced at her watch.

It was 1:47 a.m.

If she made a run for it, she could be in bed before two. She continued to slowly walk towards the doors, that were final in her view.

Just as she past the last bookshelf, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the front of her robe, reeling her in, Rose let out a shriek and a hand slapped over her mouth to shush her.

"Are you _out _of your _mind_?" Scorpius hissed at her.

Rose's eye widen when she realized the reason for Flitch's search. Scorpius was in the library as well. They were looking for him. Rose settled down and wiggled away from Scorpius who was eyeing the door.

"What are you doing in here?" Rose whispered.

Scorpius sneered down at her, "I could ask the same for you."

Rose crossed her arms, "Studying. I was studying."

"It was rhetorical." Scorpius groaned, "I know you were studying, why else would you be in the library for?"

Rose gulped and frowned, "Excuse me."

She shoved him away, heading back for the door. She didn't care much about getting caught anymore, as long as she wasn't caught along with Scorpius… alone. Before Rose made any attempt of reaching the door, Scorpius was already dragging her back to hide behind a bookshelf.

"Like I said before, are you out of your mind?" He shook his head, "You do know that the doors are locked."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Just give me your wand."

Scorpius was running low on patient with her, "Weasley, they lock the doors with enchantments. Do you know if you try opening them it will set off a signal and they'll be on there way back here…" He let out a couple of short breaths, "Stay put."

"Don't you feel bad that you're friend might be caught?" Rose questioned.

"What friend?"

"The one who ran out?" Rose rolled her eyes, "Don't you want to go help?"

Scorpius let out a dry laugh and shook his head, "That? I jinxed a couple of books to pound on the floor to make it seem like I was running for it. The spell should wear off now, I'm sure Madam Pince and Flitch are completely confused as to where I went or where I hid."

Rose made a face and let her mouth hang open in surprise, "So you purposefully locked yourself, _and me_, in the library?"

"It's better than getting caught, no?" He smiled.

Rose, completely astonished, cracked a smile. Even after all her years completely hating Scorpius for being… well, Rose wasn't sure why she really hated him besides the one time back in second year. She was more surprised how quickly she warmed up to him after a simple conversation. Not even a pleasant conversation over interest or hobbies… It was almost an argument and still, she managed to let her guard down for once.

"You're barefoot?"

Rose felt her face turn a violent red and was glad they were in the dark. She glanced down at her feet and nervously chuckled.

"It's more discreet than slippers or shoes." Rose explained, "I'm completely stealthy like this."

Scorpius looked impressed. He gazed over to the doors once more and suddenly pushed Rose further into the shadows. He pressed his back against her, shielding her from something.

_"Did you find him?" _

_"No!"_

_"Check the fourth floor, I'll be on the look out here!"_

The voices subsided and Scorpius peeked out, to make sure nobody was dwelling outside the library.

"Come," He motioned, "We need to get away from the front just in case they come back in."

Rose nodded and followed Scorpius to the back rows where a field of tables were eerily still. Scorpius ducked down and sat in the midst of the tables, leaning against a bookshelf.

Rose followed suit, not knowing exactly what to say. Should she thank him? Rose pressed her lips together. It was the right thing to do. She looked up and Rose finally got a good look at him. His blonde hair was disheveled, his necktie was undone and his shirt was untucked. He seemed… different. Rose had no idea how long she sat by him, studying him because he took noticed of her stares.

"This is new…" He started, "Miss Rose Weasley not glaring at me. Think the world might end."

Rose felt embarrassed. She always thought he never knew she was giving him dirty looks. In fact, he never really paid much attention to her, how would he know she glared at him every time he walked by.

"I don't _always _glare at you." Rose lied.

Scorpius snorted.

"I want to thank you." Rose sighed out, "For stopping me. I could have gotten both of us into trouble."

Scorpius nodded, "I haven't seen much of you as of lately. Except in class."

Rose made a face, "Where else would you want to see me?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'm just used to seeing you down the halls or just lounging around the Black Lake."

"Oh…" Rose closed her eyes, "Just busy… with school."

"I should have known," Scorpius smiled, "With all those marks you earn, it couldn't have been just by sheer luck. I bet you put in a lot of effort into everything, right?"

Rose cleared her throat, "Right."

"Ah, I wish I had your determination," Scorpius let out a sigh, throwing his head back, "I forgot to borrow a potions book since I lost mine recently. I was sneaking into the dungeons when I think Flitch heard me. I slipped into here thinking I lost him but I suppose Madam Pince saw me."

Rose smirked, "I was studying for Potions too."

"Really?" Scorpius asked, "Could you help me?"

And without thinking too much about it, Rose was glad to help. They spend the entire night studying for their potions exams. When the morning came they quietly slipped off and headed towards the Great Hall, grateful for a new found friendship. Although, when potions exams were graded and Rose was astonished she got a very average grade on her exam she studied all night for, she didn't feel as disappointed as she thought she would.

She glanced over at Scorpius, noticing the smirk that formed on his lips. His eyes flickered up at her and his smile grew. He lifted his exam for her to see and although Rose had push back all her resentment for him behind her, it was still a good feeling to know she did better on him on the exam.

* * *

><p><strong>Review if you think Rose should have a study date with Scorpius.<strong>

-n


	4. Chapter 4

**Well now that I've updated Dragon's Blood, I don't feel so bad updating this story. I know it's not as popular as the other but it's quickly beocming one of my favorites... now if you stick around I'm sure you'll like it. : )**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter Four

ooo

"Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"You can't be serious! Do you actually think Slytherin has a chance at winning the quidditch cup?"

"Of course I do! If we defeat Hufflepuff tomorrow we qualify for the final game of this semester. You know winning give the upper hand at the next half."

Rose snorted, "I know it does but I still think you are delusional."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Clearly you are, since you think that you have a _real_ interest in quidditch."

Rose scoffed, "I do!"

"Right…" Scorpius began to laugh, "Rose, buddy of mine, when you take a real interest in quidditch is when hippogriffs come flying out of my ass or when you actually pick up a broomstick and fly around."

Rose sat up from grass and glared at Scorpius who was lounging out enjoying the rays of the sun by the Black Lake.

"I thought making fun of my flying inability was off limits, you promised!" Rose dramatically accused, "I'm hurt!"

"Rosie? Hurt?" Scorpius gasped, "I think it's a triumph of any man if they could hurt your steel exterior. I take it as a compliment."

Rose groaned and laid back down next to him. They both breathed in in unison, enjoying the last of fall. There was a bit of nip in the air indicating winter was well on its way.

"Getting colder, isn't it?" She pointed out.

"That reminds me," Scorpius mumbled, "I need to wash my thermals to wear for tomorrow's game."

Rose gave a soft grunt as a reply.

"What was that?" Scorpius questioned.

Rose lazily sighed and turned to her side to look at Scorpius.

"Nothing." She replied with a smile on her face, "I was thinking of how nice it is just the two of us…"

Scorpius snorted, "You mean how nice it is without Olivia yelling half of the time at Darren? Are those two ever going to go out? I haven't known them for a month and even I know that they both have feelings for each other."

Rose shrugged, "I tried convincing her to allow him one date. One _measly_ date."

"She refused?" Scorpius guessed.

"On the contrary," Rose revealed, "She agreed to it but she couldn't do it. But hey, at least they're friends now… sort of."

Scorpius cringed, "I'm just glad you don't yell at me for trying to look up your skirt."

"That's because you don't look up my skirt." Rose rolled her eyes.

Scorpius remained quiet, alarming Rose. She sat back up and poked his arm.

"Scor?"

"Mmmh?"

"Why didn't you answer?" Rose investigated.

"Answer what?" Scorpius asked nonchalantly.

"You haven't been going around looking up my skirt, have you?" Rose raised her voice, softly shoving his shoulder, "Scorpius."

"What?"

Rose finally smacked his chest, "Don't tell me you looked up my skirt you perv!"

Scorpius was thrown into a fit of laughter as Rose tried to squeeze the truth out of him. She punched and shoved him as much as she could as Scorpius curled up into a ball.

He then raise his hand sup in defense and shook his head, "_I_ haven't! Okay? Damian has."

Rose's eyes widen and yet another round of insults and hits were thrown at him. Scorpius on the other hand was having a great laugh that it didn't matter what she did or said to him, her reaction was priceless to him.

"I'm serious!" Scorpius laughed, "But it was by mistake, he thought you were Olivia. Thank goodness she never found out, could you imagine that row?"

Rose suddenly stopped hurling punches at him and sat still.

"Oh…"

"Thank you, I thought your tickling would never stop."

Rose furrowed her brows and attacked again.

ooo

Rose was reaching for a book on the very top shelf in the library. She usually was very tactic when it came to books out of her reach, but even climbing two shelves, she still couldn't reach it. She didn't want to climb another shelf and risk being kicked out again. He jumped back to the ground and stared up at the book, defeated. She frowned, planning on giving up when an arm appeared out of nowhere, reaching for the exact same book she was eyeing, taking it from its place with ease.

Rose whined.

"They that's my book!" She said.

She then looked up at the very handsome face of Darren McCoy, who was flipping through the pages of her book. He ran his fingers through his light brown hair, smirking down at her.

"I know, just though you might need some help." He said, closing the book and handing it over to her.

Rose hesitated to take it from his hands but she did and she gratefully flashed him a smile.

"Thank you." She earnestly said, "I really need this book to prep for O.W.L.s I thought you were going to take this copy. Well, before I knew it was you."

Darren shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking. Rose was glued at his side.

"Listen, I know you might be busy prepping for exams. I know I was really busy my fifth year too but can you do be a big favor?" Darren flashed her big round puppy eyes.

"Anything."

"You heard how Slytherin demolished Hufflepuff a couple of days ago, right?" Darren asked.

"Heard?" Rose questioned, "I saw the game. Really intense stuff, quidditch is."

Darren smiled, "Well Damian is getting worked up over the final game before break. I hate seeing him like that and I was wondering if you could… I don't know sounds crazy."

"Do what?" Rose asked, clinging on to her book with every fiber in her being.

"Can you somehow convince Olivia to be nice to him this week? I think the whole school knows about them but if she doesn't scream at him, he won't be as anxious." Darren smiled, "You want Gryffindor to win, right?"

Rose smiled, "Of course!"

Darren stopped walking and placed a hand on the wall, leaning over Rose as she glued her back to the wall as well.

"By the way, what are you doing after the game?" Darren asked.

Rose shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Keep you options open." He smirked, "See you around, Rosie."

And in a blink of an eye, he was gone. Rose more than curious what he meant by that.

ooo

The wind was whipping around violently. Rose and another friend, Dorothy had a hard time keeping their eyes open without having their vision assaulted by a stream of cold air stabbing them. The only indication that Gryffindor was winning was the booming announcement that they had just scored several goals. The cheers were drown out by the whistling of the wind.

"Dor!" Rose shouted, "What's the score again?"

Dorothy's voice was muffled by a loud gust of wind that nearly toppled Rose over.

"WHAT?"

"THIRTY TO TWO-HUNDRED!" She shouted, "GRYFFINDOR'S LEADING!"

Rose was surprised, after cheering on for two hours she had no idea the scare was the wide between teams. She looked up only to see brief streaks of crimson and green. She really had no idea what was going. It was hard to.

Rose had no idea if Olive was taking it easy on Damian like she asked her to and Rose had no idea how Scorpius was doing up there. She's heard he was a very good seeker, why was he taking so long? Rose pathetically squinted up into the sky when Darren suddenly appeared as handsome as ever. Before he got to put in a clever word, a booming announcement was heard.

"SLYTHERIN SCORES! FORTY TO TWO-HUNDRED!"

"Looks like we're having a good game aren't we?" Darren yelled out.

Rose nodded, "Can't really tell, can you?"

Darren snorted, "No not really."

"SLYTHERIN SCORES AGAIN FIFTY TO TWO-HUNDRED!"

Darren and Dorothy suddenly became immerse in the game, shouting up into the sky as if the plays were as clear as crystal. Rose glanced up again to see only a blurred out cloud in the sky. It was impossible to tell what was going on but it seemed Darren and Dorothy were not affected by the weather conditions.

"I SUPPOSE I MISSED IT BUT IT SEEMS LIKE MALFOY HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH!"

Darren and Dorothy became agitated and yelled for another goal. Rose was jumping up and down, cheering for Scorpius.

"SLYTHERIN HAD SCORED AGAIN! SIXTY TO TWO-HUNDRED!"

Darren and Dorothy began shouting obscenities.

"GRYFINNDOR SCORES SIXTY TO TWO-TEN! AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IT'S ALL OVER MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH. I REPEAT MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH THE SCORE IS TWO-TEN to TWO-TEN! IT IS A TIE! THE FINAL GAME IS A TIE! I HAVE BEEN GIVEN WORD THE UPPER HAND WILL BE GIVEN TO BOTH TEAMS NEXT HALF! CONGRADULATIONS TO BOTH TEAMS!"

Darren and Dorothy both hunched and sighed. Rose on the other hand was extremely happy. She dashed down the stairs to reach the pitch, she ran towards Olive and Damian who were having yet another row. Olive threw down the broom and lunge herself toward Damian. Rose rushed over to peel Olive off Damian.

"How dare you blame me?" She shouted, "This was a team effort McCOY!"

Damian muttered something that was lost in the wind but somehow, Olive was able to pick it up.

"Damian you're such a _jerk_!" She picked up her broomstick and marched off towards the changing rooms. Rose glared at Damian, who shrugged, and ran after Olive who was having a fit. Rose could sympathize with her. It couldn't be easy being the only girl on the team this year and on top of that being solely responsible of the other team scores.

Rose reached out for Olive who shrugged her off. She was hostile and she was sure she was holding it all in until she reached the changing room.

Lo and behold, Rose was right.

The second they stepped in, Olive fell to her knees and began to cry. Rose threw her arms around her friend and squeezed her tightly.

"Ollie…" Rose whispered out, "You did amazing, don't listen to him."

Olive only choked back tears.

"You'd probably hate me for telling you this but I was so confused at the beginning of the match, that I cheered for Slytherin once." Rose laughed, "I don't know if I should tell Scorpius because he'll probably take it the wrong way but I know you'll laugh at me. Isn't it funny?"

"No."

Rose frowned, "What did he say?"

Olive sniffed and moved out of Rose's arms, wiping tears off her face.

"He said they were the only reason they had a chance at winning today, until I screwed it up." Olive closed her eyes, "And I can't help but to agree with him."

Her chin quivered.

Rose stood up, "C'mon let get you out of those robes and into some clean clothes. I know some good ol' fashion butter beer and random snogs will cheer you up."

"I don't want to snog." Olive fretted, "I promised Damian that I'll go out with him so that we'll win. He thinks that I threw the game she we wouldn't. That's why he's mad."

Rose perked up, "Really?"

Olive nodded, "He must hate me right now."

"What did you promise?" Rose curiously asked.

"That we'll sneak off to explore the Shrieking Shack." Olive pathetically sighed, "I thought something stupid and nonconventional would be better as a first date rather than some stupid typical romantic date at Madam Puddifoot's."

Rose nearly tackled her friend in a hug. As non-romantic as Olivia tried to make it seem, the whole thing was oozing with romance, it make her squeal. Rose suddenly pushed her friend in the shower, stripping her of her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Olive roared.

Rose glared at her, "I'm fixing everything up! Get ready and get dressed and meet me at the front of the clock courtyard at 7:30. Hurry you got like... forty minutes."

Rose rushed out of the Girl's Changing room only to bump into Scorpius who was just about to enter his. Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him in the opposite direction, dragging him along, ignoring his protest.

"Where are we going?" He yelled.

"We're going to set up Damian and Olive, once and for all." Rose slowed her pace to a halt and stared right into Scorpius' eyes.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Rose pleaded.

Scorpius face glowed, something Rose clearly missed as she took his hand again to lead him towards the Gryffindor toward, in search of Damian.

ooo

Rose and Scorpius were crammed into a broom closet, peering out to spy on Olive who was looking out for Rose. Olive looked at her watch and paced around impatiently. Rose smiled.

"The things I do for my best friend." She snickered, "She's going to hate me for this."

"Or thank you…" Scorpius suggested, "No you're right, she going to hate you."

Olive stopped pacing and looked up. Rose couldn't see who she was looking at but she assumed it was Damian from the look of her confused face.

"Shhh…" Rose shushed, "I think he's here."

"What are you doing here?" Olivia called out.

A few beats of silence and suddenly, Damian was in the picture.

"You lost a bet." Damian said, "Let's go, I kinda want to grab a butter beer before we head off for the Shrieking Shack."

"What do you mean _I lost_?" Olive glared at him.

"You said if we lost, you would asked Darren on a date knowing it would get under my skin and if we didn't, a date with me." Damian explained.

Olive crossed her arms, "We didn't win did we?"

"We didn't lose either..." Damian smirked.

"That's not what I said! I said, if I remember correctly-"

Rose unable to stand her friend anymore shouted out from the broom closet.

"OH MY GOSH OLIVE WILL YOU JUST GO OUT WITH HIM ALREADY!"

Olive and Damian looked in their direction. Olive was visibly annoyed but Damian took the cue and began pulled Olive towards the door, thanking Rose who was stumbling out of the closet with Scorpius.

"No problem!" Rose shouted, "Have fun you two! Damian, I expected her back before midnight, do you hear?"

Rose began giggling at the look of Olives face before she disappeared into the night. Rose crossed her arms and looked up at Scorpius.

"Thanks, we make a pretty good team don't we?" Rose cocked her head.

"Yeah..."

Rose shook her head, "Let's see what other types of hijinks we could get ourselves into before the night is over."

Rose ran off, leaving Scorpius looking after her with the stupidest grin on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>I really hope I'm building thier relationship up as realistic as possible. Anyways I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays with family and friends and loved ones! Sad to say but this will be my last update of the YEAR... that is until 2012 rolls around, which is only a couple of days away. EEP! I hope everyone has fun for the remainder of the holidays and please stay safe! I don't won't to lose a singer reader from nonsense like a sugar coma or getting stranded on the top of a building with no way down. Rascals. <strong>

-n


	5. Chapter 5

**Whoo, double update! I really hope the jumps of time doesn't gat too confusing. This chapter starts off with the present and then it goes back in time to tell more of their story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter Five

ooo

Rose never took her eyes off the blurring landscape that passed by. The more she though about it the worse she felt. She blamed herself for not speaking up, she blamed herself for the distance between them, but she fully blamed him for falling in love with someone else, because that was not suppose to happen. They were supposed to be close friends until... they died. Rose gulped down a knot in her throat and slowly closed her eyes.

"I'm tired of your bull, Rose..." Olive groaned, "Why can't you just admit it?"  
>Rose pursed her lips, "Admit what?"<p>

"That you have feelings for him." Olive sighed, "It's not that hard to say."

Rose closed shook her head and place her forehead on the cool glass window.

"Disliking his stupid girlfriend does not mean I like him, it means that no matter what circumstances, Ruth will always be annoying to me with her squeak of a voice and her stupid long blonde hair..." Rose growled, "And I don't hate him because he stopped talking to us, I just missed having him around. Okay? None of that sums up that I have feelings for him. This is different."

Olive slumped back into her seat and looked out beyond the window like Rose.

"I suppose you can't be miserable over a relationship that wasn't there, right?" Olive raised her eyebrows.

Rose squeezed her eyes tight, refusing to cry. She had a point. Olive was as close to Scorpius as she was and his distance never affected her the way it did to Rose. So why was it hard to admit it... if there was anything to admit.

ooo

Scorpius sat across from Rose who was lazily reading her textbook for History of Magic. She wasn't paying much attention to him staring. It was a habit Rose figure he started since the start of the second term of their fifth year. Perhaps he had missed seeing her like she missed talking about random things with him. Rose smiled up at him.

"What?" She asked.

Scorpius shook his head, "Nothing."

She smirked and sighed, "Did Professor Binns lecture about muggle fairy tales with your class hour, too?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Stupid topic if you asked me." Rose muttered.

"What do you mean, it was the first interesting class he's have in five years." He mumbled, "Can you lend me your quill and ink?"

Rose shoved her things to him and leaned her head against her hand, "I don't know. Muggle fairy tales usually meant some sort of brainwashing of Happily Ever Afters and true love."

Scorpius shrugged, "He only talked about certain elements of Fairy tales... So it really brained wash people?"

Rose snorted, "No not really but a lot of little girl who grew up listening to these stories grew up with a distorted reality of love. I don't know, I was skeptical since my mom tried to read me all these stories when I was a tike."

"Skeptical of what?" Scorpius asked, letting out a chuckle.

Rose sat up, "Of true love."

Scorpius suddenly frowned, "What do you mean you're skeptical of true love? You're parents are in love, right?"

Rose wrinkled her nose, "No, it's not what I meant. I mean I know my parents are in love and I might be able to fall in love maybe once or twice but to believe in true love? I don't know, maybe there isn't anyone out there for me that can make me believe in it."

"What if you already met him?" Scorpius questioned.

Rose stopped and gave his question a good thought. She smiled.

"All these '_What if_'s can't be healthy." Rose reached out to nudge Scorpius shoulder, "But if you insist that I might have already met him then I'm open for discussion." Rose offered.

"Really?"

"What do you think of Darren McCoy?" Rose suddenly asked, "Do you think he believes in true love?"

"Why do you ask?"

Rose ducked her head shyly, "I don't know... I've kinda always had a school girl crush on him since my first year. I'm not sure if he's been flirting with me or just being kind."

Scorpius gulped, "Well if you want to know a guy's perspective when he likes a girl..."

"Are you serious?" Rose gasped, "Are you really going to let me inside the mind of the male species?"

Scorpius paused to look at Rose. He softly smiled at her and nodded.

"If a guy really likes you he would stop at nothing to be with you, unless a rejection occurs. Then again you have cases like Damian, his persistence was key but not all guys are going to want to see you suffer just so he could have one date with you." Scorpius chuckled, "If a guy considers you as good friend already means that he's thought of a possible future with you, especially if he's single. We like to think about our available options and which girl would be perfectly suitable for us."

"That's not vein at all." Rose sarcastically said.

"And lastly, if a boy in in love with you he always considers your feelings before his." Scorpius gulped and looked away briefly, "Got that Rose... bud... buddy."

Rose smiled, "I like that. Rose Bud."

"As in friends?" Scorpius questioned.

"No..." Rose zoned out for a brief moment, "Like a rose bud, about to blossom. It'll be spring soon. I just might blossom into this magical flower like in those stupid fairy tales and who knows... I might just fall in _love_."

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?" He watched in amusement as Rose batted her lashes.

"Of course I'm being sarcastic." She sighed, "Whoever I end up with better have a thick skin to endure my _rumored_ ice cold heart."

Rose smirked and resumed reading her textbook, not noticing how difficult it was for Scorpius to smile through their whole conversation.

ooo

Rose was on a mission. After their triumphant win in the rematch against Slytherin, the whole house erupted into a huge party. Olive and Damian finally made their public debut as a couple and although they were tease about it for the longest time, they both didn't mind it. Rose on the other hand was ready to become the other Mrs. McCoy or at least pretend it could happen. As she was prowling through the throngs of people she bumped into one of her many cousins, Albus, who was enjoying the festivities.

"Rosie, muh girl!" He slurred, "What's shakin' bacon?"

"You had the firewhiskey, didn't you?" Rose frowned in disgust.

"I did and my mouth is burning! I'm like a _Dragon_!" Albus began to flap his arms wildly around. Rose frowned.

"Anyways Rosie," Albus threw his arm around his cousin, "If I were you I'd steer clear from James at the moment. He's been hearing all these stories about you and Scorpius and he's not all too excited about it. He's preparing to threaten you by telling Uncle Ron that you've been associating with the '_unassocibles_'."

Albus winked at her.

Rose rolled her eyes, "You tell James there's nothing to worry about and if he was truly worried he would have talked to me about it already. Anyways have you seen Darren?"

"Darren? James best friend?" Albus questioned, switching his fire whiskey around in his cup.

"Yes."

"Dunno, maybe by the fireplace." He shrugged.

Rose nodded and took Albus's cup. She downed the whiskey straight and cringed. She began her search for Darren again, fully equipped with the knowledge Scorpius was able to give her and it was more than enough. Along her quest on finding Darren, Rose was urged to take more fire whiskey, join a conga line, and lead the entire house in the Gryffindor in a toast for a great pre-season and a highly anticipated amazing series of games to a House Quidditch victory. By the time Rose, stumbled across Darren, the party was dying down and all the amazing music was now fading to the stupid sappy songs Rose generally hated. But if Darren loved them, Rose supposed she could learn to like them too.

"Hey Darren!" Rose smiled, crinkling her nose.

Darren turned away from James and plastered a smile on his face.

"You look like you're up to no good... What's going on little miss Rosie?" Darren held out his arm and Rose was quick to tuck herself underneath it, causing James to glare at her.

"Hey do you want to dance?" She asked.

Darren glanced up at James, not knowing exactly what to do. He shrugged and nodded.

"Sure, why not?" He smiled.

"Awesome!" Rose jumped, "Let's go."

Rose dragged Darren at the center of common room. There was hardly anybody around. In fact, only a small group of second year girls and James's friends where lingering in the common room, chatting about the game and whatnot. Everyone else had left for dinner or called it a night. Rose wrapped her arms around Darren's neck, cocking her head to the side, admiring him.

"Why weren't you ever in the quidditch team?" Rose asked, swaying to the dying song.

Darren looked around, a bit self-conscious, "Umm I don't really like flying."

"Really?" Rose squinted her eyes at him, "It's exhilarating!"

Darren chuckled, "I thought you had a reputation of not flying."

"Well I heard it was exhilarating." Rose corrected.

"Of course," Darren rolled his eyes, "Hey the music stopped, do you want to sit down on this couch? We could dim the fireplace..."

Rose smirked and followed his lead. They sat by the fireplace for what seemed like a lifetime. Rose was enjoying his company and he would laugh at all her childish ways. Rose was glad they were having a great time. Even after it was way past their bed times, they lingered at the foot of their staircase that led up to their dorms.

It was unexpected but just before Rose decided to finally climb up to her dormitory Darren walked over and kissed her. Her eyes flew open in shock. It took her a second later to react to his lips but she kept her eyes open. She wasn't sure why she couldn't close them and she wasn't sure what she expected by keeping them open but she finally did squeezed them shut and allowed herself to enjoy the kiss.

"Goodnight, little miss Rosie." Darren spoke on her lip, placing one last kiss on her and retreating up his staircase. Rose stood there, trying to process what had just happened and when it clicked she punched the air in victory and ran up the stairs. Tomorrow she will be able to gloat; tomorrow she might just be another Mrs. McCoy.

ooo

Rose walked out into the quidditch pitch, shielding her eyes with her hand form the sun as she looked above her. Scorpius was mindlessly flying around, no real pattern to the direction he steered his broom to. Rose watched him fly around, shaking her head because she will never understand what was so great about flying.

"Oy! Malfoy!" Rose shouted.

Scorpius halted in mid air, upon seeing Rose looking up at him, he raced back to the ground and jumped off the broom.

"How's it going Rose Bud?" He smiled, "A little to early to be up from a long night of celebrating, don't you think?"

Rose crossed her arms, "It's a little too early to be practicing, don't you think?"

Scorpius looked around, "I'm not practicing, just flying around to take my mind off things... I was just thinking about you."

Rose sighed, "Well good because I have some news for yo-"

"Hey," Scorpius interrupted, "Do you want to fly with me?"

Rose stopped talking and let out a laugh, "Do you want me to die?"

"I'll be riding with you." Scorpius shrugged, "I'll make sure you won't fall off."

Rose was speechless, which was a first when it came to Scorpius. She always had something to say to him and even with the monumental milestone she reached with Darren she was unable to announce it to him because she was shocked, even more so than the kiss.

"I- but... _really?_" Rose choked out.

Scorpius laughed, "Yes. You've always talked about how you wish you could fly but you didn't cause you want to avoid the embarrassment, right?"

"Yeah... yeah, I did." Rose softly said.

Scorpius threw some fingerless gloves at her and instructed her to put them on. Rose was in a daze as Scorpius mounted his broom and waved her over. She gulped and approached him.

"Here, sit behind me." He directed, "And hold on to me, tightly."

Rose nodded, mounting the broom and taking hold of Scorpius waist in a death grip with her arms. He didn't seem to mind how tightly she squeezed when he kicked off from the ground. Rose let out a yelp.

"We're high off the ground..." Rose peered down; she startled herself and shoved her face into Scorpius back.

He laughed.

"Hold on tight." He said before jetting off at top speed. Rose never thought herself as a screamer but all she did was close her eyes tightly and let her lungs do the rest. The dives Scorpius took were not as bad as then he spun around. That made her dizzy. Even if she never admit it out loud to any one, she liked when Scorpius led her through the dives.

It felt like free falling.

And to Rose, if fairy tale love really did exist she supposed it felt like this: like flying. All the unexpected turns and twist that made her heart feel like it was about to jump out and save itself but it stayed in its place. That what's love felt like, she was sure of it. And although the fear was there, it was nice to know you where sharing that same feeling with someone else.

Rose suddenly felt a smooth ride, she loosened her grip on Scorpius and looked around, to find that they were coming back down to solid ground. The moment they touched down, Rose held her head and laughed.

"That was amazing." She laughed.

"Dizzy?" Scorpius said more as a statement than a question.

Rose nodded.

"Come. Mount the front of the broom." He motioned for her to the front of him.

Rose locked eyes with Scorpius and her jaw unhinged.

"What?"

"You're going to steer for a bit, c'mere." Scorpius urged, taking Rose's arm and gently leading her to sit in front of him, "Grip the broom stick tightly."

"I know! I know!" Rose closed her eyes, "I learned this my first year. Just never go the balance thing down."

Scorpius was grinning his face off, "Alright now just kick off the ground softly."

Rose bit her lip, "Are you sure? You might die."

He rolled his eyes, "Kick off."

Rose let out a frustrated breath and did as she was told. She pushed off the ground exerting with her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the ground disappear but she had no idea his she was climbing the air at an alarming rate or she was already dead.

"Open your eyes." Scorpius chuckled, he rounded his arms around her to take a hold of the broom as well, "I'll help you with the steering but you'll get a hang of it quickly. Now tilt the broom a bit to your left."

Rose sighed and tilted. The broom slowly drifted, pivoting around in a circle.

Rose let out a squeal, "Did I do that?"

"Yes, now to your right." Scorpius ordered.

They spun around in the opposite direction. Rose was ecstatic that she was steering all by herself..

"Alright now to move forward, all you have to do is lean slightly forward and it should go in a straight line. To stop, lean back."

Before long, Rose was steering herself and Scorpius around the quidditch pitch not far from the ground, at a height Rose was confortable to fall from. Scorpius sat back, letting rose full control of the broom. Rose didn't do anything extravagant like Scorpius had but she did teach herself how to zig-zag around and how to float back down to the ground.

The second her feet touch the soft ground she turned around and flung her arms around Scorpius, thanking him for the lesson.

"Anytime." He shrugged, "It's nothing really. Let's go get some breakfast."

Rose nodded, "That sounds good, I'm really craving oatmeal and buttered toast. Mmmmm!"

"So what did you want to tell me?" Scorpius asked, "You said something about big news?"

Suddenly, imagines of yesterday's events came rushing back to Rose.

"You would never guess who I kissed last night." Rose bit her lip, watching Scorpius reaction to her news He was shocked for a moment but he quickly recuperated, forcing a smile on his face.

"Prince Charming?" He guessed.

"Close enough," Rose winked, "Darren! We spent the night by the fireplace and we talked and talked. Right before I left for bed, he just... you know... kissed me! Isn't that amazing?"

"Don't see how it is." Scorpius admitted, "How could someone not like you, Rose Bud? You're intoxicating charming."

Rose smiled, "You know, I don't have a name for you."

"I don't need one." Scorpius shook his head.

"How did they come up with your name?" Rose questioned, "Hmmm? Hm? _Hmmmm?_"

Scorpius, unable to resist her childish ways, sighed.

"It's a constellation." He admitted, "I was name after a group of stars."

"Astro." Rose suddenly said, "You're Astro."

"Astro?"

"It means stars in Latin." Rose explained, "We learned this in Divination, remember? You know, I really liked _fool _but I think Astro suits you better."

"You don't say?" Scorpius laughed.

"Come on fool, I'm famished!" Rose smirked.

Scorpius managed to flash her a real smile as they headed back towards the castle in pursuit of a delicious breakfast.

* * *

><p><strong>If you're reading this, I really thank you for keeping up and sticking with this story this far. Really, I appreciated it. I hope to keep on writing and updating this story since Dragon's Blood only has a couple of chapters more. It's hard to say how many but I think working on a different project only delays the the end. Ha. Anyways tell me if you're liking this story. It means the world to me!<strong>

-n


	6. Chapter 6

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Mismatched<strong>

Chapter Six

ooo

"Reason number forty-three," James droned on, "His father practically _hated_ our parents. It was people like his father that caused the second war! I dunno why you want to be associated with people of that sort!"

Rose yawned, trying her best to pry her eyes open. She didn't try to make it seem she was actually listening to her cousin who was trying his best to make her realize the grave mistake to befriend someone like a Malfoy. After the second reason, Rose make herself comfortable on the couch, taking up the entire space to lay down on.

"Rosie!" James shouted, "Can you at least consider the fact that no one in our family would be accepting?"

Rose rolled her eyes, "James, we're just friends. You're making it seem like I'm going to _marry_ him or something."

James glared at her, "Reason number forty-four."

"Okay, I've had enough of this..." Rose yawned, rising form the couch, "You don't even know him."

"I don't want to ask how _well_ you know him." James shot back.

Rose frowned, "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means," James narrowed his eyes, "That I don't want you to get any ideas."

"What _kind _of ideas?" Rose shouted, "Hm? Why is it that you're the only one that thinks I'm going to fall for him? I told you already we're good friends! That's all he'll ever be!"

James snorted.

"And if you doubt it so much, why don't you ask Darren!" Rose hissed.

"What's he got to do with anything?"

Rose smirked and began for the portrait hole

"Rose!" James roared, "Where are you going?"

"To see my _husband_," She yelled out, "Slytherin should be coming out of practice right about now..."

Rose stifled her anger as she ran out of the common room. It was just insane to hear that one person was worrying about her harmless friendship. Rose knew there was nothing to worry about. It was even hilarious to think that there was a possibility that James was worried about a wedding. Rose was fifteen, what girl at fifteen is seriously thinking about marriage? But_ honestly_, Scorpius and Rose? Together? In that sort of..._romantic _way?

What was James thinking?

Rose stomped towards the changing rooms trying to burn off energy as she went along. The last thing she wanted to be was a raging brat. When Rose reached the changing rooms, she stood outside leaning against the wall hands tucked behind her back. She patiently waited for Scorpius to walk out. Rose began to think as her foot began to dig into the dirt, a pout forming on her lips.

She was sulking.

She hated that the only person who seemed to have a problem with Scorpius was James. Rose was sure if she introduce him to her family they would love him. James... what a jerk. The nerve of him trying to compile a useless list of reason to stop talking to him.

"Rose Bud?"

Rose looked up to find the one person she wanted to see looking down at her. Scorpius was pushing his arms into the sleeves of his sweatshirt that had the house crest of Slytherin. Rose tried to smile but all that she could afford to do is press her lips into a thin line.

"How was practice, you fool?" Rose asked.

He looked into her eyes and it was the first time Rose noticed they were nearly _glowing. _Had his eyes always done that?

"It was alright, we might have a change at the quidditch cup if we manage to score three hundred in our next game against Hufflepuff." He informed.

"Is that possible?" Rose asked, fiddling with her hands.

Scorpius nudged her, "Dunno, want to watch their game? They play Ravenclaw this weekend."

"Sure..."

It wasn't blindly obvious but Scorpius knew Rose well enough to notice that she was thinking about something, at least something that was bothering her. They began to walk around aimlessly around school grounds, neither of them saying a word. When it seemed like the end of the road was at the edge of the Black Lake, Rose stopped and sat down, staring at the small waves lapping at the bank.

"What do you dream of doing after school is done with?" Rose asked.

Scorpius sat next to her.

He shrugged, "Something along the lines of doing something I love."

"And what is that?" Rose asked.

"Ancient artifacts. Actually, I'd like to go out and explore for lost artifacts. It's strangely fascinating, for me at least." Scorpius said.

"I suppose you loved every minute of History of Magic." Rose teased.

"I did actually." He admitted, "I just like the idea of being able to find something that's been forgotten, excavating through rubble... travel. Did you know there's a temple in Mexico that muggle archeologist have yet to crack open? Professor Binns said ancient civilizations used elementary magic to seal off a lot of their secrets and treasures. Lucky for us, a lot of muggles don't have the heart to blow off a wall in order to preserve the integrity of the temple."

Rose smiled, "I didn't know that... So you want to explore?"

"I want to collect the rarest things on earth." He explained, "Maybe perhaps make small display in my giant mansion on the hillsides of France or some ridiculous like that."

"Doesn't sound too ridiculous." Rose assured, "Sounds like an adventure."

"What about you?" Scorpius asked, picking up a small stone and chucking it towards the lake.

"I'd like to teach." Rose smiled, "I might squeeze myself into a muggle school and teach children for a bit before trying to come back to Hogwarts. But what I would love to do is-"

Rose stopped abruptly to watch Scorpius hurl another rock into the lake. The stone flew high into the air and was swallowed up by the murky water as it descended back to earth. Rings rippled through the waters until it was still once more.

"I really hated you," Rose declared, "Did you know?"

Scorpius scoffed, "Of course I knew... not entirely, but I had to figure there was reason behind all the looks of death you gave me."

"I wasn't exactly discrete about it, was I?" Rose laughed.

"You were terrible." Scorpius winked, "I never knew exactly what I did to make you so angry but to be honest, it's not like I could go up to you and try to fix it so I just avoided it."

Rose cleared her throat, "I think you _know_."

Scorpius cracked a smile, "Maybe I do..."

"I've never been so infuriated with anybody after you revised my paper our second year." Rose explained, "Thanks to you, I received the lowest mark I've ever gotten I my entire life that day."

Scorpius snorted, "I forgot about that, what did I write to make you hate me for years?"

"I forgot." Rose lied.

"Clearly you haven't." Scorpius teased, "Really, tell me."

Rose chewed on her bottom lip, she shook her head refusing to tell Scorpius that despite after all these years, she still had that scroll tucked away in her school chest at the foot of her bed. It was something she couldn't let go of. The ink was now fading a bit and the edge were torn and worn. There was no real reason she held on to it other than to remind herself about him, and in the past years it only motivated her to do better than him.

"I don't remember, honest. All you did was make me hate you every time you got better marks than me." Rose spilled, "So I guess I can thank you for making me the top student every single year."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "That will change. One day I'll steal that title from you."

"Highly doubt it." Rose scoffed.

ooo

Rose was in a daze. She had just bumped into Darren up by the Owlery trying to send a letter to her parents. She didn't think much of it and just chatted with him as she tied the letter to a school owl. She did however forget her gloves to keep her hands warm in the chilly weather of February. Rubbing her hands together and constantly breathing hot air on them only worked for a brief moment. Her fingers were freezing to the point she couldn't stand the frigid temperature of the owlery. She excused herself from Darren as quickly as she could, promising to continue the conversation later on.

Unfortunately, she didn't get very far. Darren's hand flew from out of nowhere to hold her back. He shrugged and handed over his own warm gloves to her, urging her to slip them on. Rose smiled.

"Thanks..."

Darren then kissed her cheek before pecking her lips with a lingering kiss. He waved goodbye and left her standing there with two oversized gloves on her hands.

As Rose retold the event to Olive, who was clearly jealous of her, she suggested Rose to initiate the nest step. Rose, who was day dreaming spread out over her bed, perked up.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"You've been waiting for him to ask you out right?" Olive lowered her gaze at her, "It's not that I've been straying away from Damian but I do recall him saying something about how shy his brother is around girls... Maybe he can't find the courage to ask you out himself. Make it easier on him. You ask."

Rose shook her head, "I dunno... Scorpius said-"

"The hell to what he said!" Olive groaned, "Whatever he's telling you has to be a load of dung, since when do you see Scorpius with some girl other than you? Because he can't take his own advise! At least Darren took the initiative to show his interest in you!"

"What are you saying? Rose asked, clearly confused, "You make it seem like... Scorpius..."

Olive gave Rose a knowing looked, "Haven't you wondered about it?"

"Wondered what?" Rose asked.

"You've got to be kidding me." Olive laughed, "You've never given thought that Scorpius might possibly like you?"

"Impossible." Rose made a face, "We're friends. Really _good _friends."

Olive let out a frustrated groan, "Whatever. Believe what you want to believe. What are you doing this weekend?"

"I'm going to the Hufflepuff game with Scorp-"

Olive raised an eyebrow.

"What? He asked me to tell you and Damian as well." Rose lied, "He wants to scope out the competition for his next game."

Olive shrugged, "Sounds like fun. We'll be there. But like I said, if you like Darren just ask him out already. What's the use of just laying around daydreaming... with his gloves, would you just take those off already?"

Rose smirked, "Why? Jealous?"

"Very much, now take them off!" Olive shouted.

ooo

"Darren!" Rose shouted, during a class exchange, "Darren wait up!"

Rose waved her goodbyes at Scorpius as she weaved in an out of the crowd just to reach that familiar handsome head that stuck out from the rest. She was suppose to be head toward the library to look for a specific book for an upcoming exam for Ancient Runes but the sight of Darren slightly sidetracked her Rose jumped over a first year who managed to rip his book bag open, spilling his things over the entire corridor. Her sights never left his head.

"Darren!" She yelled.

His head suddenly whipped around scanning the crowd to see who had called his name. Rose waved at him running up to his side, breathlessly.

"Did I make you run all this way?" Darren asked, chuckling.

"No," Rose gulped, "It's not that you're a hard person to catch, it's just all these obstacles I had to get through to reach you."

"Oh, so what the occasion?" Darren smirked.

Rose stopped function for a split second but suddenly felt the grip of her hands around something soft.

"Just wanted to give you your gloves back." Rose forced out a laugh, "Um, thank you. It was really nice of you."

Darren took his gloves and shoved them into his back pocket.

"No problem."

"Also..." Rose gulped, "Can I ask you something privately?"

Darren, suddenly intrigued, nodded pulling Rose away from the large flow of the crowd to a less populated area, specifically the Clock Tower courtyard.

"What is it?" Darren leaned over, whispering.

Rose blushed and stepped away, "I was wondering what you were doing this weekend?"

Darren appeared confused for a moment before breaking into a huge smile.

"Nothing, really." He confessed.

Rose took in a deep breath to stead her nerves.

"Yes, well, I was wondering if you'd like to do something just you and I." Rose squeezed her eyes, hoping that she didn't mess up any words in fear of looking like a complete idiot.

"Sure, why not?" Darren shrugged, "How's Saturday night? Meet me down at the common room at ten? Yeah?"

"Sounds perfect." Rose beamed, "Can't wait!"

Darren winked and slowly walked away, "See you then."

Rose balled her fist up in victory and let out a small squeal. She had almost forgotten that she needed to go to the library until she heard a group of second year girls complaining how terrible stuffy it was in the library nowadays. Rose followed them in, slightly overhearing their mindless conversation over school, books, and boys.

"Detention, again! Are you ever going to watch a game with us Martha?"

"Listen, I didn't think Professor Longbottom could hear me gossiping when he had those earmuffs on."

"Ruth, are you going?"

A small girl with vibrant blonde hair and small features, looked up. She was almost invisible compared to her other friends.

She nodded, "I have to, McLaggen is play. I can't miss it."

The girl named Martha opened the door to the library and grinned, "Oooh McLaggen how have you two been doing lately?"

Ruth shrugged, "Fine."

And as much as Rose wanted to stick around and listen to the words of twelve year olds, she had her own things to take care of.  
>Rose branched off on her own way, dodging into the language section of the library. Besides the plentiful amount of Latin books, which Rose thought were completely useless since there wasn't a Latin class offered at Hogwarts, she stumbled upon the reasonable section of Ancient Runes.<p>

"_Advance Translations and Corrections of Ancient Rune's and it's appliances to the modern world..._" Rose read off her hand, where Scorpius had written in ink the book she needed when she asked him for help. He mentioned it really helped him understand Rune's since literally translations can be confusing at times.

"A-ha!" Rose celebrated, "There you are!"

Rose slipped out a small book that fit in the palm of her hand. She quickly flipped through it satisfied with her findings and found the nearest table to sit and read. As she skimmed through the first chapter of the book, she had already identified her main concern over Ancient Runes. A feeling that felt like bubbles, spread through out her entire body as she sat in awe at the amazing book Scorpius suggested to her. Rose even felt the need to go back to the Ancient Rune's Section and pick out a book that was purely written in Runes to translate it for fun.

Rose was surprised to have clearly translate a full page from the book with out having random words like _chicken feathers_ or _handbag_ over an article that was purely over dragon intestines.

Rose was almost lost in translating that she hardly noticed a small figure standing beside her, looking over her shoulder, studying her work.

"Are you studying Runes?" A small voice asked.

Rose glanced up to find that very same girl with blonde hair looking at her with huge saucer eyes.

"Uh, yeah." Rose said.

"Oh..." The girl, Ruth, nodded, "I don't want to bother you but can you help me with some of the Runes? I'm sort of struggling in that class."

Rose smiled, more than happy to help.

She motioned Ruth to sit down and asked what she needed help on.

"Well, I don't understand how letter's could represent an entire lecture when they stand alone, but then grouped together mean something different." Ruth frowned, "Also, I suppose it make a whole lot of a difference I actually had time to study."

Rose smirked, "Cheer up, it gets harder."

She didn't smile. Rose nudged her playfully and picked up her quill to start tutoring. The girl looked in awe of Rose's scribbling and once she was comfortable reciting the information back that Rose had revealed to her she left, thanking Rose for her help.

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><p><strong>It's all down hill from here. :)<strong>

-n


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